


Our Love Was Made For Movie Screens

by reddies_spaghetti



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Basically this fic covers the whole of their senior year so you're in for a bumpy ride!, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, Graduation, Halloween, House Party, Idiots in Love, M/M, New Years, Prom, Senior year, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-08 03:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14095776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddies_spaghetti/pseuds/reddies_spaghetti
Summary: Now it was Senior Year. Now Richie only had to survive in the shithole of a school for thirty six more weeks of the year and he was scot free. Free to embark on whatever adventure his heart desired.In all fairness, Richie was pretty convinced that he’d probably end up working as a cashier at the local Wendy’s or McDonalds.





	Our Love Was Made For Movie Screens

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the song "All I Want" by Kodaline :)
> 
> Enjoy! 
> 
> As per usual, come say Hi on Tumblr @reddies-spaghetti

Senior Year. The final hurrah for the seventeen year old of Derry High School. The last year before they leave the comfort of their homes and enter the real world. For the Losers, it was about spending their final year as a group and making it count. They had already decided that they were going to be off to separate college, yet remaining on the east coast. Beverly was applying for a media apprenticeship in Florida, Ben was applying to be an Architect in New York, Mike a Lawyer at Harvard, Bill a Journalist in New York and Stan was going to study Accounting in Massachusetts. The only loser that wasn’t sure about his future was Richie. Richie had no idea what he wanted to do, or where he wanted to go after graduation. He just knew that he wanted to get the hell out of Derry.

Once upon a time, their little group of six was a little group of seven. Back when they were still in middle school with the world at their feet, there was a seventh member. Eddie Kaspbrak. Eddie Kaspbrak who was Richie’s best friend. Wherever Eddie was, Richie wasn’t far behind. Eddie was the shortest member of the group, he had soft brown hair that curled at the ends and always carried around a fanny pack that contained the bullshit medication his mother made him take.

The bullshit medication that turned out being the reason that the group of seven, became a group of six.

Richie always hated even numbers.

The year that they all turned thirteen was the worst year of Richie’s life. Eddie had discovered that his mother had been giving him what Mr Keene’s daughter Greta called, Placebos. Bullshit medication that parents would give to their children to make them believe they were sick. The tablets weren’t doing anything, all they were made of was sugar. This new revelation set of a spiral of events which ultimately lead Sonia Kaspbrak to pack up their house and take Eddie _far_ away from Derry, the losers, and Richie.

Richie sobbed into his mother’s arms for the whole weekend. It felt as though his right arm had been ripped off and gaping hole was left in his chest. It took Richie another year to fall out of his funk and return to somewhat of his previous self. Yet his jokes lacked spark, his smiles looked fake and at times over the years, he would find himself passing by Eddie’s old house, empty and lifeless.

There was no contact. Sonia hadn’t allowed addresses to be exchanged so it was as though Eddie had just vanished into thin air. The only thing that gave Richie a little hope was that Sonia never sold the house, so there was always a small part of him that held out hope that one day, Eddie would move back to Derry. To Richie.

As the years passed and Middle School turned to High School, Richie waved goodbye to his old Hawaiian shirts and said hello to leather jackets, ripped jeans and combat boots. He would often find himself skipping the borning classes to hang out with Beverly behind the school gym, smoking and talking about anything and everything. Beverly was as close to a best friend that Richie was ever going to get.

He had also gotten rid of his large ridiculous glasses and began wearing contacts. His new look brought a lot of attention that Richie soaked up, revelled in even and he became even more popular when he revealed to the school he was bisexual. Now, Richie was always one for drama, so instead of just telling his friends, he had announced it over the school’s intercom system during the morning broadcast. Richie couldn’t really find it in him to care about what people thought about him, but he was never taunted for it, or picked on. He guessed it was his outfit choices, or the fact that the first day of junior year he had sauntered in sporting his fresh new tattoo.

That shut them up pretty quickly.

Now it was Senior Year. Now Richie only had to survive in the shithole of a school for thirty six more weeks of the year and he was scot free. Free to embark on whatever adventure his heart desired.

In all fairness, Richie was pretty convinced that he’d probably end up working as a cashier at the local Wendy’s or McDonalds.

It was the third week in, and Richie had taken his usual seat next to Beverly when he felt the shift in atmosphere between his group of friends. “What?” He mumbled around his chicken that he had stuffed into his mouth.

“Gross Richie,” Stan muttered and passed him a napkin, “Talk with your mouth closed please. Say it, don’t spray it.”

Stan’s words got a reaction out of everyone and they all let out a laugh, yet to Richie, it still sounded forced. So he swallowed his chicken, and repeated his question. “What’s going on with you guys? You’re...acting weird.”

“It’s nothing Richie, just eat your chicken,” Ben started but Richie shook his head.

“No no, somethings up, and all of you know about it, so spill.”

Beverly was the first one to sigh, and she glanced over at Mike who nodded his head, “Alright, but I don’t think you’re ready to hear this Richie.”

“Just tell me,” Richie gritted out, eyes flitting between all five of them. A dreaded feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach and Richie wanted nothing more than for it to go away. He hated those feelings, it always ended with someone giving him bad news.

“I was out my paper run this morning, and I saw a moving van outside Eddie’s old house. It looks like Sonia finally sold the place,” Mike’s voice was steady, yet the emotion behind it was heavy. Richie wasn’t the only one affected by Eddie’s departure. Deep down, all of the losers had hoped that by Sonia not selling the house, Eddie would come back. “I’m sorry, man.”

If Richie were still thirteen, he would have cried all over again. Sobbed even. However, he was seventeen years old, and crying was not an option, not in Derry High School. So he grabbed his lunch and tossed it into the nearest trash-can before he headed out to behind the gym, lighting up a cigarette.

He counted the seconds until Bev rounded the corner, lighting her own up and leaning on the wall next to him, shoulders brushing. “Hey, I know this is hard-”

“Please don’t,” Richie cut her off. “I know what you’re going to say and I don't want to hear it okay? Just- let me have my moment and I’ll be back to my usual annoying self by tomorrow.”

“We all miss him, Richie,” she spoke up after a few minutes of silence. ‘We all miss him, but we all know that you miss him the most. You guys were Eddie and Richie. Never one without the other. So take all the time you need okay? Just know that we’re all here for you if you want to talk.”

Without another word, Bev stubbed out her cigarette and gave Richie a warm smile, heading back to class.

Eddie was never coming back. Sonia had sold the house to some other new family that would make new memories there. Some other kid would sleep in Eddie’s room and their best friend would climb up the tree and sneak in the window during the night. Some other family would eat in the kitchen where they had spent so many Sunday afternoons baking cakes and some other family would sit in the living room and watch movies on their big flat screen television.

Just then, right at that moment, Richie realised something.

He was never going to see Eddie Kaspbrak ever again.

* * *

 

Richie skipped school for the rest of the day and didn’t bother to show up until after lunchtime the following day. Not like he had any really important classes on a Friday morning anyway. He managed to walk into the school without being caught by the Principle or the receptionist, which was a bonus for him and he stuffed his hands into his pockets, rounding the corner.

As he did, his eyes settled on a figure a few feet away, with his back to him and a smirk made its way onto his lips. The boy was short, only around 5ft 4, was wearing a light pink sweater, white pants and white vans. He looked with an innocent dream, yet also, really hot. He brought his fingers up to his lips and wolf whistled, leaning against one of the lockers, “Someone better call the fire brigade because _damn_ you are on fire!”

It wasn’t his _best_ pick up line, but it was the best he could come up with in such a short time period. The boy’s frame stiffened and Richie watched as he knuckles clenched and unclenched again. He put on his best smirk as he saw the boy turn to face him, but as he did so, the smirk fell from his face and was replaced by a look of shock.

No way.

No _fucking_ way.

The boy, who was also staring back at Richie with a look of shock, as though he couldn’t believe who he was staring at. Neither of them spoke for a while, the silence stretching out between them, until finally the boy spoke up.

“I see you’ve finally decided to ditch those _horrendous_ Hawaiian shirts,” he spoke and Richie felt his breath hitch as he stumbled forward, just a little.

“ _Eds_.”

Right in front of him, no more than a few feet away, was none other than Eddie Kaspbrak. Just like that, Richie felt like his thirteen year old self again, stumbling over his feet and his words, causing Eddie to let out a laugh and take the final few steps to close the distance.

“Hey, Richie,” Eddie breathed, and without waiting for a reply from Richie, he wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight, intense hug. Richie’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist, picking him up up off the floor as Eddie’s fingers moved into his curls, face in Richie’s neck as he breathed him in. Richie’s eyes drifted shut as he moved one of his hands up and down Eddie’s back, fisting the material of the sweater with his other.

“ _Eddie_. Eddie Kaspbrak, as I live and breathe,” he breathed into Eddie’s curls. His hair was a little longer, but it was still a soft brown colour and the ends still curled up just like he remembered. “Eddie…”

“I’m not going anywhere, Richie,” Eddie whispered against the skin of his neck, sending a shiver down Richie’s spine. As the words settled in his mind, Richie moved to put Eddie down, only for the grip on him to tighten. “Doesn’t mean you have to let me go though.”

Richie chuckled, returning his arms around Eddie’s waist, but settling him on his feet, “You’re really here, what- when?”

“Yesterday morning. My aunt got sick and my mother decided to move back to be closer to her. As you know, she lives just a few towns over. Instead of buying a new house, we just decided to move back into our old one. Which meant that I got to come back to Derry High and spend Senior Year with my friends. With you.” Eddie explained, a wide smile on his lips. “You’re wearing contacts too.”

“Yeah, uh, I’ve changed a lot I guess,” Richie mumbled and Eddie grinned, shaking his head.

“I still recognised you as Richie Tozier though, didn’t I? So you haven’t changed all that much,” Eddie bit down on his bottom lip. “Are you still friends with everyone?”

“The losers? Oh yes, we’re as close as ever. They will be over the moon to see you Eds,” Richie grinned and wrapped an arm around Eddie’s shoulder, leading him in the direction of the cafeteria.

“Still not my name, Richie.” Eddie quipped, but there was a large smile on his face, which to Richie, meant that there was no real meaning behind it,

“What? Would you prefer I called you Eddie Spaghetti?” He asked and Eddie’s face scrunched up as he pushed Richie’s shoulder, causing laughter to bubble up in both their throats.

“Don’t you dare,” he replied as they stopped outside of the cafeteria. Eddie turned to face him, a smile on his lips,, and Richie was blown away by just how _beautiful_ Eddie had grown up to be. Not that he wasn’t cute before, he still was cute, but now he was...more than that. His cheekbones were sharper, his eyes brighter, his lips fuller. His smile caused his stomach to flutter and he had to clear his throat.

“What?” Richie croaked out and a light blush rose up on Eddie’s pale cheeks as he turned her head away.

“Nothing, just, I’ve missed you a _lot_ Tozier,” he answered and reached for the door, only for Richie to stop him.

“I’ve missed you too Eds. More than you will ever know.” As he finished his sentence, Richie pushed open the doors and lead Eddie through the crowded cafeteria, towards the losers table.

It was Bill that recognised him first, and he let out a gasp, rising up off his chair and over to where they had stopped, pulling Eddie into a hug. Richie took a few steps back, giving everyone room to get reacquainted with Eddie.

“E-Eddie, is that r-really you?” Bill stuttered out and Eddie nodded.

“Yeah, Bill, it’s really me.”

Beverly squealed and jumped up, letting Bill move away before she hugged him tightly, “Holy shit, Eddie! You’re _gorgeous_.” She grinned as another blush made its way onto Eddie’s cheeks. He turned his attention to Stan, Mike and Ben afterwards, so he missed the look she gave Richie.

“Senior year is finally going to be perfect, the losers are all back together and we get to go out with a bang,” Richie added and everyone nodded their heads. Eventually, they all let go of Eddie and returned to their seats. Richie tugged another seat over for Eddie and sat it between him and Beverly, so close that their shoulders were brushing.

Richie looked up just then, and caught the look that Stan was giving him. It was a look of, “Don’t fuck this up, Tozier”, and yet, Richie wasn’t even sure what he would be ‘fucking up’.

“There is a party on Saturday night at Greta Keene’s house, are you all in?” Bev asked, glancing around the table. “You too Eddie of course, since you’re with us you are more than welcome. Not that Greta will care, she’ll probably be too drunk to notice who comes into her house.”

“Oh, better watch out Richie, don’t want a repeat of what happened at that last house part Greta Keene threw,” Mike piped up and took a sip of his soda. Eddie made a noise from next to Richie and he cleared his throat.

“What happened the last time?” he asked and Stan snorted into his drink.

“Greta got so drunk and spent the whole night trying to get into Richie’s pants because, and I quote, “she had slept with every other ‘bad boy’ in Derry apart from Richie and she wanted to check off the list” He explained and Richie swore he felt Eddie tense up, but as soon as he did, he relaxed again.

“Well, looks like I’ll have to come along then. To keep Richie safe from Greta, of course.” Eddie fiddled with the ends of his sleeves and he cleared his throat. “What time does it start?”

“I’ll pick you up, Eds. It’s my turn to be designated driver anyway,” Richie hummed from next to him and Ben rose his eyebrow.

“Uh, Richie, I don’t think we’ll all fit on your motorcycle, but thanks anyway.”

Richie rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Don’t worry Haystack, I’ll take my old mans truck, some of you will have to sit in the back, but it’s not winter yet so you should be okay.”

The bell rang out, signalling the end of lunch, and the losers all groaned before standing up and throwing their trash into the trashcan next to their table. Richie wrapped his arm back around Eddie’s shoulders, not quite ready to part with him yet, and he snatched his timetable from his hand and glanced at it. “Hey, you have English with Stanley next. You hear that Stan, you take care of him for me. Bring him back in one piece!”

Stan groaned and rolled his eyes, but he was smiling all the same. There was no way he couldn’t smile, not with the Losers Club reunited, “Don’t worry Trashmouth, I’ll take good care of him for you.”

Richie winked and removed his arm, sending Eddie a wink, “Catch you later, cutie.” He saluted to the others before he headed in the opposite direction, towards the music room. He could feel Eddie’s eyes on his back and he had to contain himself from turning back around.

Quickly, he ducked into the bathroom and splashed his face with some cold water, staring at his reflection in the mirror. The events of the day had been nothing short of a whirlwind. Yesterday, Richie was convinced that he would never set eyes on Eddie Kaspbrak again, and now he was going to spend all of senior year with him. Richie had his best friend back, and yet, the way his heart was hammering in his chest made him contemplate the possibility that he was seeing Eddie as more than a best friend now.

He flicked off the tap and ran his fingers through his unruly curly hair. Time had surely made the heart grow fonder, as he couldn’t get Eddie out of his head, or out of his heart. Not that he ever wanted to, but this surfaced a whole load of new issues.

Yes, Richie was bisexual. He liked both men and woman, and right now he was pretty sure he had just fallen head over heels for his best friend, as cliche as that sounded.

Only one question remained....

Did Eddie feel the same way?


End file.
